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Thursday, October 22, 2015

I think it's safe to say no-one expected Justin Bieber's What Do You Mean to be the smash it's become - but the slinky, understated groove slowly worked its way into even the most sceptical of listener's brains (I include myself here).

So how do you follow that up? Well, with another sad tropical banger, produced by Skrillex, which explicitly addresses the star's career rehabilitation. "Let me redeem myself tonight," he sings on Sorry, with a vulnerable tremor in his tenor.

The track was co-written by Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter, previously responsible for Selena Gomez's sublime Good For You. "We were just trying to capture that moment in a relationship, or a particular moment in your life, where you realize you made a mistake and you’re finally ready to admit it and apologize," said Michaels.

It's not as immediate or memorable as What Do You Mean - but it won't throw Bieber's comeback off course.